Bonavero Network Series: Hindu Nationalism in Intellectual History and Political Thought

Hindutva or Hindu nationalism has captured political power in India, defying some of its founding constitutional principles. How do we make sense of Hindutva in global political theory? What is its relationship to race and caste? Is contemporary Hindutva distinct from its origins in interwar India and Europe?

Luna Sabastian joined Northeastern University London from the University of Cambridge, where she was Smuts Research Fellow from 2019 to 2022. With a background in Religious Studies, Psychology, and Postcolonial Studies, Luna retrained as a historian at the University of Cambridge, where she completed her PhD just before the pandemic hit. Her PhD thesis, which is titled “Indian Political Thought and Germany’s Fascism, ca. 1918-1950,” straddles her interests in India, Germany, and their tremendously violent histories in the twentieth century. 

Luna is a historian of modern Indian history and its political thought, best known for her work on the political thought of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) and Indian fascism. Her work engages the decolonial impetus to consider India as a creator of novel political ideas. Political violence is a recurring theme and major drive of her work. Combining rigorous archival research across continents and languages with close readings and a flair for high political theory, her work offers new perspectives on German and Indian fascism and concepts of race and caste, and explores the foundations of sovereignty in India, from gendered violence to legal codification, to yoga. Luna’s recent publications explore themes of anti-colonial nationalism, political violence, gender, and race. She is writing a book on Indian Fascism: Race, Caste, and Sovereignty.
 

Ajay Gudavarthy is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, JNU, and his areas of interest include political theory, contemporary political movements, civil society and democracy, post-colonial theory, and populism. Prior to teaching at JNU, he also taught at the National Law School, Bangalore, from 2003 to 2006, and was a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Modern South Asian Studies, Tubingen University, Germany, in 2015. His most recent books: "India after Modi: Populism and the Right" (Bloomsbury, 2018) and (ed) "Secular Sectarianism: Limits of Subaltern Politics" (Sage, 2019). He is currently working on "Democracy and Revolutionary Violence," which will be published by Sage, and writes regularly for various News Dailies including The Hindu, Telegraph, The Wire, and Newsclick.